Rough Love
by Jayciefer
Summary: What would happen if the Hunger Games didn't take place in the forest? What would happen if a new rules was added, as well as a new challenge? Watch as this years Tributes try to face their deepest fears, try being the key word. Can they overcome their fears and weaknesses, or are they destined to die in a puddle of blood? Will Peeta teach Cato what love and friendship is about?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there! So this is the Hunger Games story that I've been thinking about doing. This idea has been in my head for quite a while, and I've finally decided to post it. Everything leading up to the Games is the same as the books, however just about everything after that will be my own ideas. Further more, let's get this out of the way. I OWN NOTHING ABOUT HUNGER GAMES! The story and plot of this fanfiction is my own idea, however the fandom is not. Anyways, enjoy!  
**

* * *

Peeta sighed as he looked at the tube he was about to step into, mixed feelings rushing throughout his body. He was frightened, nervous, and maybe a little bit excited. Here he was, Peeta Mellark, a person that people were actually _sponsoring. _Which was big considering the District he came from. He was dressed in a black shirt and dark green pants, his boots tied neatly and perfectly so they don't untie. His nervousness caused small balls of sweat to run down his face, as he fiddled with his hands as he said goodbye to his stylist. She had been so nice to him, she had been _honest _and _nice _to him. Something he had learned that was hard to run by in the Capital.

He took a deep breath as a female automatic voice told them that they had thirty seconds. "Remember," He focused back on Portia, as she spoke softly and calmly to him. "Don't get into the Cornucopia. I know you have other skills, especially those throwing knives that you showed me, but those will be more useful for you if the others don't think you have them and you take them by surprise." She said as she walked up to him, giving him a nice and motherly hug. His throat suddenly tightened as he thought about his family back in District 12. His Dad and brothers were probably huddled around the TV nervously, as his mom made comment after comment about every Tribute. Including him. "Good luck." She said as she guided him into the tube, brushing his cheek softly. He had to fight down tears as he looked at her dark, beautiful face.

"Thank you, Portia. For everything." He said, giving her a shaky smile as the tube closed around him. He saw her straighten up, a strong and confident face going onto her. He knew what she was doing, trying to appear strong and confident that he would be coming back.

_I will…I just have to think about this. _He hated to admit it, but Peeta has been manipulating everyone. Everyone thought he _actually _loved Katniss. No, he respected her, but he had no romantic feelings for her. And its because of that, if it comes down to the two of them he will _not _hold back. _I can do this. Just remember what Haymitch says. Don't fight in the bloodbath…_

The platform started to rise, making him jerk for a moment.

_Try to find some type of water source…_

A few seconds later, he was blinded by sunlight as he looked at his new surroundings. And boy, was he shocked.

_And most importantly, stay alive. _

They were all around in a half circle, the Cornucopia around them. However, they were not in the place he had thought they'd be in. He was thinking of a more open and exciting place, instead he seemed to be in some type of forgotten city. _Almost like…_ Peeta's eyes widened as he realized where he was, seeing similar places like this in school books. _One of the cities before Panem existed…_he said.

Buildings were tall and crumbling, looking like the smallest of wind would make them fall over. Signs from various stores littered the ground, and rumbled and broken cement littered the floor making it harder to get to the Cornucopia. _If you planned on going towards it…_When he looked around, he noticed Katniss looking at a bow and quiver of arrows. Cars were on the street to, some turned right side up, while others were upside down. Some even had fire on them.

The Gamemakers have never done a Game where there was in a city like place. They said that they didn't think it'd be as much entertaining. _Looks like their broadening their horizons. _Peeta thought, and with a jolt he just now realized that the voice was already counting down.

5

Peeta made eye contact with Katniss, shaking his head at her when he saw her glance at the bow and arrows again.

4

When he looked over, he noticed that the boy from District 1 was by him. He could see him eyeing the spear, and he knew that he'd need to get far away from both objects as he could.

3

When he looked to his other side, he saw the blonde boy from District 2. He was looking at him for some reason, eyes narrowed in either thought or aggravation.

2

The two on one of the building seemed to change even slower, as if time was slowing down.

1

He saw just about everyone in the half circle shaking, itching to move and get away or to get to the other Tributes. He wondered if his face looked like everyone else's, scared and panicked or excited and thrilled. You could tell the Careers were the later.

0

And all at once, Peeta saw everyone jumping off the platforms and running towards the Cornucopia. He saw something flashing towards him, and he jumped out of the way just for a red streak to run into one of the man dark alleys that were connected to the street. _Foxface…._ He thought, knowing she was the only one with that color hair.

_What are you doing, standing on your platform like a idiot? _He heard his mother's voice in his head. _Get moving! _He quickly did as instructed, moving as fast as he could. The black jacket he had thrown on that had a little bit of red around the edges fluttered around him as he pumped his arms, trying to gain more speed. He climbed over rubble, trying his best to keep a look out for Tributes around him.

When he looked back, he noticed a few of the Tributes were killing off the others. He saw the boy and girl from 4 smiling as they overpowered one Tribute, and Peeta felt like he didn't have to worry much about them. If they had to team up to face off against one girl, then there wouldn't be that many problems.

As Peeta cut across a street and towards what looked to be some type of a restaurant, he tried opening the door and found that it was unlocked. He quickly opened it, and slammed it shut and locked the door. He was about to let out a sigh of relief, when he was suddenly tackled from behind.

He gasped as his face was pressed against the glass of the door, his heart thumping as he thought that he could be dead in the Games already. _No…I trained to hard to die in the first hour! _He mentally thought, growling as he pushed off against the door. His strength probably surprised the other, since they went stumbling back. When Peeta turned around, he gulped as he saw the boy from 11. The monster of a man and with dark skin, he was someone that Peeta would have probably put his money on to win. He had a machete strapped to his thigh, and his hand was reaching for it. And that was all that was needed to get Peeta moving.

He quickly ran to the left, the boy-Thresh- trying to stop him but being just a tad bit slower. He quickly ran as fast as he could, seeing a door on the other side of the restaurant. Tables were overthrown and he was behind a bar right now. He quickly crawled over the bar, landing roughly on his stomach. He groaned as he got up, already moving towards the door as he heard a crash behind him soon.

As he slammed open the door, he saw that it led to the back alley of the food establishment. He quickly jogged down the steps, before he took off running down the dark alley. He ran and ran, hearing the door slam open. However, he noticed that it took quite a while for it to open. _Maybe he tripped and fell…_Peeta thought as he turned when he got to a 'T', not stopping to think of what way he should run. He had noticed that every sink he could see through the windows were dripping, which meant that water was easily assembled. And since they weren't in someplace like a Forest, infection was reduced greatly. _They probably want more people to die fighting, instead of boring deaths. _He thought as he slowed down just a little, not wanting to waste his energy.

He panted as he stopped, tired. _I need to find some place to hide. The Careers will be moving at night, but they won't expect me to be moving while they are. _He thought, trying to figure out which way would be best to try to find a sleeping place while the sun was still out and everyone was trying to find food.

He picked a random house and went into one of the rooms. He bit his lip as he looked at the soft, comfortable looking bed. _I can't take the chance…_he thought as he grabbed the pillows and blankets, dragging them to the walk in closet that was right behind the bed. He opened it and saw that it was bare of anything. He sighed as he got in and shut the door behind him, laying down all of his stuff before laying down himself.

_Something tells me, this year is going to be different. _He thought as he started to daze off into dreamland.


	2. Chapter 2

Peeta jumped awake, his heart racing as he heard something in the distance. The sheets of the bed he was lying in was pooled off the side, and he had a knife he had found in the room clutched in his hands as he looked around for whatever had woke him up. He sighed as he let his body relax, seeing that it was nighttime and what was waking him up was the capital's anthem.

He snuck to the window, making sure not to leave to much of his body in sight for anyone outside, and looked out. He could see the Capital's symbol fading away, and the first head appearing.

Both from District 3, which meant that all of the Careers were still alive. Suspected, but that didn't mean he wasn't hoping for a different outcome. Both from 4, which also surprised Peeta. The District 4 Tributes were usually, if not always, considered the Career's groupies. They usually helped the Careers in the small tasks, like cooking and gathering wood, in return for the Cornucopia supplies. But they were usually the first ones killed when the group fell apart. The District 5 male. So the girl had survived? Peeta wasn't surprised, when he saw her in training she showed how fast, cunning, and resourceful. And when they were running in the bloodbath, he saw how fast she actually was. Both from District 6, which Peeta wasn't surprised. She didn't really seem to be one who'd last long in the Games. Then again, looks could be deceiving. Along with both the boy and girl from District 7. _I kind of thought he wouldn't make it past the first day, considering how injured he seemed. _He thought, remembering seeing the boy stagger away. Then, the District 8 female. Another one he had suspected wouldn't make it. Both from 9 and 10 followed her. At that point, the Anthem stopped.

How many was that? Fourteen? Just on the first day. Ten left. _That's a lot for only the first day… _he thought as he stepped away from the window, and got the bag he had found ready. He took the water bottle full of water he found and put it in the small bag, but that and the knife were like the only two things that he had found in the room that was useful. He took a deep breath, and started changing clothes. He had found a black shirt and some black jeans, something that he figured would help him blend in while he moved in the dark. He also took the flashlight he found when he dug quietly through the kitchen, just in case.

He didn't plan on using it, since it would give his position away, but you never know when that could be more helpful. He opened the door to the house he had taken shelter in, and closed it quietly behind him. He looked around the yard, looking for any dangers. Before whatever happened, it was clear that someone's birthday was being celebrated. Balloons were still on the wooden table, which was overturned, and party hats, plates, and other party items littered the grass.

_How long ago was this used? _He thought. It couldn't have been that far long…unless…He mentally applauded the capital, knowing that this was supposes to be both a physical and emotional test. The images of what life was like would hit both the Tributes and the people watching from TV's back in the Districts, and would show them the downfall of the world they had come to know.

_That's one heck of a slap to the face, _he thought as he walked down the short walk way and towards the street. He walked aimlessly on the sidewalk, straining his ears to hear anything that would warn him of another Tribute. He doubted many Tributes would be moving right now, with the Careers out, but then again he was. Maybe others thought like him. If so, he'd have to be on the look out.  
Peeta took a deep breath, and he took a glance at his surroundings. The street he was on looked like one from one of those, cheesy end of the world movies his teachers sometimes talked about. They sounded like cool movies, but he had never seen one. He could see cars littering the street, the street obvious being the main road and busy since cars were strewn on the road, some even upside down and some even on fire. Something about the scene gave him the willies, since he was suspecting to see a dead body. He got to one car, and frowned as he saw blood on the door handle. It was fresh and wet to the touch. _Did someone get hurt, and accidentally leave a trail?_ Peeta wondered. He doubted that the people who preoccupied the town, since the town seemed long abandoned.

Peeta's eyes widened in surprise as he heard the sound of multiple footsteps, soon followed by voices. _Fuck, the Careers! _He thought, quickly sliding behind a car that was turned upside down and looked just about to fall apart. He peeked around it to see what the distance between them was. The Careers, Glimmer looking as beautiful as ever while Marvel laughed with his boyish face and Clove smirked that arrogant smirk and Cato followed behind them quietly with his arms crossed.

Peeta gulped as he saw that they were close to him, to close for comfort. And his eyes only widened further when he let out a small breath of relief, and his foot came into contact with some glass littered on the ground.

**XXX**

Cato followed behind the rest of the pack silently, seeming to be the only one to take what they were doing seriously. He was wearing a red t-shirt and some type of black khaki pants and a red jacket on over it. He could see Clove wearing basically a female version of his outfit. Glimmer's top was a pale pink, and she wore some very tight and inappropriate jeans. Her hair was pulled out of its twin pigtails, falling down her shoulders in a wave of gold. She wore a green jacket on over her outfit. Marvel's outfit was like Glimmer's, only instead of pale pink he had a green shirt on.

Clove's jacket had some straps on the inside of it that the Capitol's Peacekeepers must have _accidentally _looked past. The straps were filled with knives that Clove had managed to get in a bag from the Cornucopia. Glimmer held a machete in her hand, and Cato was actually afraid to say that he wished she didn't have it. The girl wasn't the best at archery, actually she was horrible, but after seeing her with that machete in the Bloodbath part of him hoped she'd loose it before the Careers started splitting up.

Cato's head snapped to the side as he heard something shatter, and his eyes narrowed at a car that was upside down. The windows, which looked to be falling apart, were tented so no one could see in it. He noticed the other Careers had stopped talking to, probably having noticed that there might be another Tribute nearby. "I got this…" Cato said, taking the small sword he had taken from the Cornucopia out of its sheath. He had found a bigger sword, but he'd rather save that for later on in the Games and had left that in the pile at the Cornucopia.

He made his way over to the car, his heart picking up a notch as his hands started sweating in excitement. This would be the first kill outside of the Bloodbath, which was considered one of the biggest kills. He gripped his sword even tighter, not loosening his grip on it as he braced himself for anything.

He jumped out and faced the other side of the car-

-And noticed that no one was there. He sighed as he looked down, noticing a piece of the window falling and shattering. And here he thought something exciting was about to happen.

**XXX**

Peeta stayed in the position he was in, practically holding his breath as he watched Cato's feet. He was curled up in a ball, hiding in the car that Cato was currently looking at. Thankfully, the car was turned upside down so he wouldn't be able to try to peek through the windows. He saw the feet shuffle for a bit, and Peeta's heart leapt to his throat as he heard Cato start to pull open the door.

"Yo, Cato!" He heard Marvel yell. "If you're done admiring that stupid piece of junk, can we get onto finding our first kill?" He yelled, a confident smile on his face as he did this. Peeta deflated with relief as he heard the door slam back shut, happy Cato hadn't been able to open it far enough to see him.

_Thank goodness…_he thought as he watched as he walked back to the ground, having to twist in his spot to watch as 8 feet walked away. _That was a little to close…_he thought as he opened the door, climbing out of it. He pulled his bag out after him, and was getting ready to leave-

-When pain flared on his right cheek. He let out a shout of surprise as he stumbled back, holding his cheek protectively as he looked at what had caused the pain. A few cars down, he saw Clove reaching in her jacket to grab another knife as the other Careers started rushing him. He noticed Marvel lift his spear, and he immediately started running. He ran into the cars, using them as cover and staying as low as possible. He yelped as Marvel's spear hit the truck right besides his hair, and he decided to just book it for the next building.

He ran across the street, climbing over cars as he did so, and slammed right into one of the doors to a shop. Unfortunately for him, the door was locked.

_Crap! Not good! And I left my bag! _He thought. He didn't even have his knife. When he span around, hearing the sound of pounding feet, he quickly dodged to the left as he saw Cato come charging at him. The boy hit the door so hard that he broke through it, and Peeta could practically hear both the door and the boy's shoulder cracking. Not wasting another minute, Peeta ran right over Cato and ran deeper into the store.

The 'store', actually turned out to be a multileveled mall. He quickly ran for the escalator, hearing 3 pairs of feet pounding after him. He turned around and brought his foot up, kicking Marvel in the boy's chest. He watched as the boy lost his balance, and collided into the two girls behind him. Peeta turned, and quickly ran to one of the closed doors.

He yelled as he saw that there was a padlock, and that the door was locked. He had nowhere to hide! He turned around, waiting for his death to come, but suddenly the door he was leaning against slid open. As he stumbled in, the door closed just as Cato was about to reach in and grab Peeta. _What the hell just happened? _He thought, remembering how the door was locked just seconds before it practically swallowed him.

_Then again, I'm not going to complain…_he thought, turning and looking at the hallway. It was hospital white and clean, and he could see various employee only signs. He continued walking down them, trying various doors, which was locked. That was, until he finally came to a door that was unlocked with the word 'security' on it.

When he opened the door, he had to close his eyes at how bright it was in the small room. When his eyes adjusted, he saw how many monitors were in the room. He noticed a spinning chair, and he was shocked to see who was in it. "Oh wow, I didn't suspect to see you here…"

* * *

-gasp-

A cliffhanger! I'm so evil, aren't I?

-grins-

So, did you guys enjoy this chapter? I know that you guys think I'm rushing the Games, but their going to be slow down. I have a even in mind, it will probably make me loose some fans but I've wanted to do this since I started writing this chapter. Anyways, why not read and give me some reviews? I mean, I did write this with a case of writers block. Has anyone else tried writing with writers block? It's a pain! Anyways, please review and share any comments you have!


	3. Chapter 3

Foxface continued running, the bag full of food she had stole from the Careers put snuggling on her back as she weaved her way through the cars. The Careers hadn't come back from their nightly festivities yet, and she had decided to take advantage of it. She had spent about twenty minutes walking around the area, looking for any traps, before deeming it safe enough to the take the chance of taking something.

She had taken some food, but not enough to notice. She thought about taking a weapon, but figured that they'd probably take inventory on those and would likely notice if she stole something. The red head darted into an alley, getting to a mall or a apartment that had a fire escape ladder and quickly started climbing up it. She turned around and rolled it up, making sure that it was concealed so no one even thought about trying to get it.

As she jogged to the top of the building, she sighed as she sat down Indian style. The fifteen year old peered into the bag, taking out a ripe red apple. She looked at it for a moment, before he stomach growled and vocally told her to eat. She brought the apple to her lips, and started chewing.

"Crap, he got away!" She just about dropped the apple when she heard the voices, and she cautiously peered over the edge. She noticed the Careers coming out of the place that she was camping at the top, and she sighed. She was safe up here…even if they did see her, by the time they got up here she would be long gone.

"If Marvel would have let me kill the boy when he was in the car, we wouldn't have this problem!" Cato yelled, and she saw Marvel blushed. Foxface couldn't help but think about how handsome the boy looked with a blush on his face.  
"Hey, it's not my fault that the boy was smarter then I thought! I seriously didn't think that there was anyone in the car!" Marvel yelled at his defense. "Plus, how was I suppose to know with the tented windows?"

Foxface smiled as she was about to back away from the edge, but then something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. When she looked down at the mall, which she now could see what it was since she noticed the sign, parking lot, which had many cars in it and in various forms of use and destruction, she noticed a figure.

The figure obviously was one of the Tributes. He had short, dark brown hair and his skin looked like it was taking a sickish tone to it. He had on a green jacket and black pants, and the combat boots he was wearing was shuffling against the ground. And as he came closer and closer, Foxface noticed many things. He had cuts, blood and-

-And a knife sticking right out his chest. Yet he didn't even seem to notice it. Foxface blinked a little, thinking the light the street lights provided were playing tricks on her. But as he got closer, she knew she wasn't hallucinating. _What the…_She thought, just as the thing lunged at the group of Careers.

**XXX**

Cato, when he first saw the guy, couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was sure the guy had been dead by the Cornucopia. He hadn't seen the guy move a single muscle or show much as any sign as breathing when they were organizing the supplies.

"What the fuck?" He heard Clove mutter, as she looked at one of her own knives sticking into the guy's neck.

"Tributes!" They all jumped at the sound of Caesar's voice boom through out the arena. "There has been a change in the Games. Starting now, any Tributes living past one week will get to leave the arena and be called a Victor. From this point on, this isn't a battle to the death against tributes. It's a battle to the death of human's versus the undead! You heard right! All the tributes, and quite a bit of the town's occupants, have been infected with a infection that reanimates the dead! Even you guys have it! But I will warn you now, the Capital has a list of surprises. Some involving sending in other people that will want to help or kill you. It'll be your job to distinguish. Team up and stand together, or scatter and die alone. Make your choice." The voice disappeared, and Cato just then noticed that the thing's body seemed to have frozen when Caesar's voice had started. However, after he stopped talking, the thing jumped back into action.

Glimmer screamed as the thing crashed into her, tackling her to the ground. She squirmed in its arms, trying to get out of the things hold. Finally, she got a grip of the machete and twisted it up, and shoved it into the guy's head. Cato watched as the machete entered the guy's jaw, and came out at the top of his head.

Cato pushed the dead, hopefully, figure off of Glimmer.

"What…the fuck was that?" Marvel yelled. Cato mentally agreed.

"Looks like the dead aren't going to make this easy for us." Clove said, reaching into her jacket as she noticed them starting to come into the parking lot. "We need to find the other Tributes and regroup! We'll stand a better chance against a city of undead if we have better numbers!" She yelled, throwing one of her throwing knives at one of the closer zombies as it let out a hungry groan.

"Right now, let's just try to get back into the mall!" Cato yelled, turning around and making a break for it. He could hear the others running behind him, panting and uneven breaths. Cato could see the door getting closer and closer. _We're almost there….we can make it! _Cato thought. When he looked behind him, he was surprised to see that some of the zombies were just about jogging, keeping up with them.

Cato turned around, ramming his shoulder right into the door-

-Only to find it locked.

Cato's eyes widened. _Not good, not good, not good!_ He kept chanting in his head, turning around and noticing that a group of zombies have separated him from the others. "Cato! Over here!" Glimmer yelled, standing on top of a car and swinging with her machete wildly. Cato shivered a little as he saw how easily she chopped the zombie's heads off.

This was not the girl he had thought was the stupid bimbo when the Capitol was assessing them.

He saw Marvel using his spear to keep them away from the car, while Clove was throwing her throwing knives at zombies in the distance. Cato was brought back to his own battle as a zombie's head blocked his vision, the eyes covered with a thin layer of white and its mouth hanging open with hungry moans escaping from it. "Fuck no!" He yelled, shoving his sword straight through it's mouth and into the head of a zombie behind it. He kicked the two bodies away, watching as they knocked a few of the other ones away from him.

As he looked around, he noticed a alley to the right. This was his chance!

Without waiting a beat, he turned and took off running. He could hear the things shuffling and moaning behind him, growls of hunger coming out of their mouths. He ran through the cars, trying to avoid any zombies that randomly came out of hiding spots like under cars and in the cars.

When he got into the alley, he noticed that there was nothing in there. He scanned the walls for doors, and cursed when he didn't see anything. Hearing steps behind him, he whirled around with his sword out and slashed one of the zombie's head clean off its shoulder.

_I have to come up with a plan. _He thought. _I won't survive otherwise. _

Something made a crashing sound behind him, and his eyes widened as he whirled around to defend himself-

-and saw the fire escape's latters lowered.

"Come on!" He heard a girl, the one from District 5 or 6, yell when she was done lowering the ladder. He didn't waste anytime to analyze the situation though, jumping towards the ladder so just as a few zombies flooded into the alleyway. When he got up the ladder, he quickly used his strength to pull the ladder back up before any of them could climb onto them.

"…what's your name?" He panted, his sword still out. He could see the girl, a small red head girl with Fox like features, eye's flick towards his sword for just a moment before speaking.

"You can call me Foxface."

**XXX**

"Quite the hiding spot, isn't it?" The figure asked with a smile, hopping out of the chair. "I found this place when I was crawling through the air ducts, trying to stay off ground in case I ran into any other Tributes. But I found it when the Careers were chasing you and managed to unlock that door." She said with a smile.

"Well, then. I should thank you…" He said, his sentence trailing off as he forgot the others name.

"Oh, you don't remember? That's OK. My name is Rue." The small 12 year old said, with a smile on her face. Peeta noted that she just wore a brown shirt and brown pants, her jacket tossed over the leather seat.

"Well, hello Rue. Now, I think we should try and figure out where everyone is. We all have better chances living if we stick together." Peeta said with a nod, rolling his shoulder as he walked over to a cabinet. The place, compared to every other place in the town, looked untouched. No fires, damages, overturned tables. Besides a few strewn about papers, it was in perfect condition.

"Well, I've noticed Earlier that the girl from District 5 was on the roof of the mall. She seemed to be trying to stay away from everyone instead of looking for anyone to kill. Maybe we should go get her first?" Peeta nodded, the idea seeming like a good idea to him.

"Yes. From what I've seen, she's smart and very fast. She could be useful." He said as he found a small knife in one of the drawers, flipping it a few times to test the weight of it.

"Alright, just let me get my pack." Rue said, pushing away from the monitors and going to a table and grabbing a pack that Peeta hadn't noticed had been there. He nodded at Rue as he took his place in front of Rue, his hand on the door handle. "Get ready, something tells me this isn't going to be easy."

* * *

So...yeah. I'm kind of nervous about this, since I know some readers are probably rolling their eyes right about now. Anyways, good or bad, please review!


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